The saddest sight!!

[flipp]

So my kits are 6 weeks old & it's time to make the break from Mum! I put Mumma in a separate cage and she is sitting there with her back to me staring longingly at the hutch her babies are in! She looks so sad and lonely! She has been the best mother and really seemed to enjoy her kits....it's quite heartbreaking to see her now! I decided not to rebreed her straight away as I don't want to wear her out, I want her to be our rabbit for as long as possible. We will let her have another litter after the heat of our summer, so she gets a break now until about the end of Feb. I hope she doesn't become depressed! On the other hand, the kits don't seem to care that Mumma has gone!,

 

[Secuono]

You're kind of supposed to wean one at a time, so the milk goes down, mainly, but it also helps does/kits that get attached to company.

 

[flipp]

Hmm....yes I see. Someone else told me that at 5 weeks they wouldn't really be drinking much anyway as I was concerned about taking 1 kit with the mother as I only have 2 kits and that would leave one kit alone. They suggested putting one baby with the mother now and then and slowly dropping back the days I do this. I thought that's what I will do, pop the smaller baby in with her for an hour or two and then take it away and do the same the next day and then miss a day etc? Would this work? I guess in the wild they don't take one kit with them, they just leave them all as they are probably pregnant again by this stage!

 

[Demamma]

If there are only two kits I would leave them with her longer. Usually the mom has had enough but since you are not going to rebreed for awhile let her enjoy them. If one of the kits is a buck I would take the buck out at 8 weeks.

 

[squidpop]

I agree I think put both kits with her- if you take the kits all away at once where is all the milk going to go? It probably hurts if she's full of milk with no babies.

 

[Cottie]

I just moved one of my mamas to a new cage cold turkey. But the kits are more than 8 weeks old and dropping like flies. I'd planned on leaving them with mama until 10 or 11 weeks, but didn't want to risk her getting sick.

At 6 weeks, I'd put them back together and leave them a little longer, assuming there's no reason to wean earlier.

 

[PSFAngoras]

I like to wean the bucks into their own cage first, and then the does a week or two later. This helps mommas milk drop slower so she won't get mastitis and it helps wih the separation depression my more maternal does get. I did have one rex that only had two, and she was still nursing heavily at 6 weeks. The kits were eating, but combined with the nursing they were getting too fat and momma had developed a uterine infection sometime about when the kits hit 4 weeks, so I separated both kits for a couple days to make sure they would be fine eating on their own and culled momma.

 

[Jessykah]

I think you did the right thing. Don't worry about it. Give her plenty of hay to help her milk dry up. Chances are she has weaned them herself by now anyway.
JMPO

 

[Disney]

I would keep them longer together, there is no reason to wean that early. They are supposed to nurse and stay with momma for 8 weeks.

 

[TMTex]

That's interesting. I wouldn't have thought that the mom would be so depressed. I've seen a little bit of that behavior in one of my does, but not to that extent. She also got over it pretty quickly after being re-bred.

I've been leaving the kits in for 10 to 12 weeks and have had some junior does still with their mom up to 17 weeks. They self wean so everything works out ok.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

You're kind of supposed to wean one at a time, so the milk goes down, mainly, but it also helps does/kits that get attached to company.

I know some that do it this way, but I never do and I know many breeders that wean "whole litter".

__________ Tue Oct 01, 2013 3:54 pm __________

I would keep them longer together, there is no reason to wean that early. They are supposed to nurse and stay with momma for 8 weeks.

Not necessarily... They CAN stay 8wks, but I would not say that they are supposed to. I know many breeders, myself included, that routinely wean at 6wks or earlier with no detrimental effects.<br /><br />__________ Tue Oct 01, 2013 3:56 pm __________<br /><br />

That's interesting. I wouldn't have thought that the mom would be so depressed. I've seen a little bit of that behavior in one of my does, but not to that extent. She also got over it pretty quickly after being re-bred.

I've been leaving the kits in for 10 to 12 weeks and have had some junior does still with their mom up to 17 weeks. They self wean so everything works out ok.

Make sure to take any bucks out by 10wks...otherwise you may end up with an "oopsie" litter from either mom or a sibling doe. Been there, done that, don't wanna do it again! Some rabbits can and will breed at 12wks...

 

[Miss M]

As you can see, Flipp, even for this, there are all kinds of ways to do things!

I wean usually at 6 weeks, and remove the whole litter, however many there are. Some do the same thing earlier. Some remove one or two kits at a time. I have occasionally left a litter in with the doe longer. It isn't written in stone.

If you'd like to give her more time with them, you can put them back in. Or you can keep them out. At 6 weeks, it's unlikely they're taking so much milk from her that she'd get mastitis, even if it had been a larger litter. A bit more iffy at 4 weeks.

 

[desertcat]

Most of our does are giving us the 'get these things outta here' look around 4 weeks. Usually everybody's eating and drinking well, so we oblige! Have one doe that may keep her kits forever...they're a month old, get messed with everyday and she STILL goes ballistic when we look at them :roll:

 

[Southbound_SF]

I'm with OAF. They don't NEED to stay in for 8 weeks, or even 6. Some folks wean as soon as 4 weeks. So that's not the problem, if there even is one.

Whole litter vs. a little at a time - I just don't know. I understand arguments for both, though I do whole litter myself. Due to my breeding schedule, this is around 6 weeks usually. Varies a little either way, but Mom is generally relieved and I think they've almost completely stopped nursing at that point.

If she likes them and there's no rush, why not leave them together? But rest assured that you don't have to.

SB

 

[squidpop]

I always look at my doe and the way she lays when she has babies and think her boobies hurt. I might be just anthropomorphizing but I imagine she feels horrible and bloated. So I think if she nurses her babies she feels relief.

 

[flipp]

Thanks everyone for all your comments. I see there are lots of differing opinions on what is best!! I think I made the right decision, as I tried to return the smaller kit after just a couple of hours apart and she tried humping him immediately. She wouldn't leave him alone, kept chasing him around and she certainly wasn't interested in feeding him!! They are all fine. The doe hasn't got mastitis, I really don't think she had been feeding them much before I took her out. The little guys are doing just fine too. Thanks again everyone!

 

[Disney]

Not necessarily... They CAN stay 8wks, but I would not say that they are supposed to. I know many breeders, myself included, that routinely wean at 6wks or earlier with no detrimental effects.

I think the longer they stay with mom the beter they build up resistance and long term health. There are many benefits to drinking mothers milk and i think it can affect a certain rabbits health in the future. But this shouldn't matter for meat rabbits who are not supposed to live long.